bundle up if you're heading out. doppler radars almost in the clear as far as the moisture goes. still a few clouds lingering around. our day planner will feature partly cloudy skies in the morning. we'll be mostly sunny through late morning and early midday into afternoon. temperatures will slide out of the 40s and into the 50s. in fact, by late afternoon, i would say about 3:00, 4:00, mosts most of us should make it to the lower 50s. later portions of the afternoon, the temperatures will be quite nice, even into the morning hours, we'll see temperatures in the 40s. >> things are very light. if you do have to go to work early this morning, i think you're going to be just fine around town. good morning. here's what it looks like on the beltway. we'll zoom into 270 and take a live look at route 121 in clarksburg. volumes are very light coming down from frederick all the way past 121 down to the point where the lanes divide looking great here.

back over to the map, this time on the other side of town, bw parkway and route 50 inside the beltway through cheverly, nice and light into the northeast corridor, the beltway is looking good through new carrollton. we'll take a look at the beltway on the south side of town here at route 4, pennsylvania avenue from southern maryland, we're doing well. route four, route five, route 301. we'll take the last live look using 395. nice and light into the downtown area. coming up in my next report, we'll go into virginia at 5:09. andrea and mike? >> the game of chicken with some really high stakes appears to be over. this morning, the house is expected to vote extending the payroll tax cuts for another two months. even after there is plenty of fighting, this is largely the same legislation already passed in the senate. >> if there is not another last-minute snag like last week, millions of americans won't see a drop in their paychecks at the first of year. surae chinn is in our newsroom with more. good morning, surae. >> reporter: good morning to both of you.

house speaker john boehner expected the bill to pass before christmas. it could happen as early as today. that means our paychecks will not shrink come january 1st. republican lawmakers caved under enormous pressure to pass the two-month extension on the payroll tax duty and unemployment benefit. the turning point came when the senate's top republican mitch mcconnell urged the g.o.p. to get on board with the bipartisan plan. some house republicans reluctantly agreed. >> sometimes it is hard to do the right thing. sometimes it is politically difficult to do the right thing. but you know, when everybody called for a one-year extension of the payroll tax deduction, when everybody wanted a full year of extended unemployment benefits, we were here fighting for the right things. >> well, the g.o.p. only agreed to this measure only after insisting on some tweaks to the bill, protecting

small businesses and a promise from the senate that they will work on a year-long deal. of course, the battle is not over. negotiators will work on this deal come january when they all return for session. back to you. >> surae chinn reporting live from our newsroom. >> thousands of grave americas at arlington national cemetery may need to be replaced or added to accurately account for the nation's war dead. in a report to congress, the army found potential discrepancies between headstones and cemetery paperwork at about 64,000 grave markers. congress ordered the review last year following charges of misidentified and misplaced graves that led to the ouster of the cemetery's top executives. this latest report found no further evidence of misplaced graves but possibly thousands of minor errors. the father of accused of leaving his 2-year-old daughter home alone in filthy conditions could face up to five years in prison now. a judge has increased anthony vincent's bond. she did it yesterday.

$100,000. vincent is charged with reckless endanger. and child neglect. investigators say the toddler's mother asked police to check on her child after she had been in the hospital for several days. that is when officers say they found the child malnourish and dehydrated inside a capitol heights apartment. the salvation army hopes you can spare just a little more change for others this holiday season. regionally, the group tells inside nova.com, donations are down about 10%. that leaves the organization short of where it needs to be to help -- keep helping families without any interruptions. >> it is time now for the latest "your money" report this morning. >> jessica doyle is not with us this morning but she is with those late shoppers at tysons corner where the macy's store is open around the clock. good morning, jess. >> reporter: good morning to both of you. you sent me to the mall this morning. this is like shangri-la. this year, the retailers are really extending the hours again so they can try to get the last-minute shoppers in

stores when we have time, when everybody else is sleeping, the people we need to buy for. a lot of the consumer advocates have been saying the discounts, they're steep if you can find them. i want to show. >> deal i found this morning. get ready for this one, andrea! this is a $1600 black and white diamond bracelet set in sterling silver. it is $1,000 off and you can apply your bonus coupon for macy's for this bracelet. now, this is just one possibility. it is a really good deal. i've been told the biggest deals right now are on coats, cashmere and things called this red box, macy's jewelry. macy's, of course, isn't the only one extending hours. we want to give you specifics about the types of extended hours you'll see out there. in terms of some specifics, toys "r" us is open now until 10:00 p.m. on saturday. they've been blowing the doors off this year. really extending the hours. some target stores are going to be open tomorrow from 7:00 a.m.

to 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. check your specific store before you go out. of course, this tysons macy's store is one of 14 in the country that are going around the clock until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. so, you've got some options. you also have 24/7 options. a lot of locations are going to stay open right until santa shows up or even after that. think about this. cvs, most 24 hour stores will remain open on christmas eve and christmas day. walgreens, the 24 hour stores are going to stay open. now, here are some ideas for folks if you're driving to that party, you forgot the last minute, 7-eleven has been saying they're the mecca for the last-minute gift. they have interesting ideas. gift cards is always a good one. kevin king, my photographer is showing you this pillow pet. they stock up for the kids this year. this is -- i pulled this off my daughter's bed this morning. for men, they have tools and

for ladies, they're recommending a bottle of wine or some chocolates, some possibilities there if you just have run out of time and you're head to the christmas party, you gotta get something last minute, those are some options. back to you in the studio. >> good ideas. the grocery stores are really doing a big deal on other things as well. jess, what do you have for us in the next half hour? >> next half hour, i'm going to get you some stuff for the last-minute person that's hard to shop for. we're going to talk about the gentleman in your life. some gift ideas on that. >> very good. we can't wait. the nationals pitching rotation just got stronger overnight. >> plus, georgetown takes on another basketball powerhouse. highlights coming up in sports. >> coming up, former presidential candidate john edwards gives a judge a new reason on why he can't go on trial next month.

at 5:09 on this damp friday morning. we're starting to get some clearing in the immediate metro area. right now, our temperatures are on the cool side. we have dropped down, most of us sitting in the 40s. a couple of the 50s out there. we'll see some sunshine later on this afternoon. day planner will call for temperatures to make it to the lower to midrange, on a by later on today. monika? >> if you're planning to head around the tysons area, we'll take a live look at route 7 where jessica doyle is at macy's. there is no delay if you need to do that last-minute shopping into tysons, we're looking good as well on route 123 in the area. no problems on the dulles toll road out of leesburg. more on area roadways coming up in my next report. andrea, back to you. thank you, monika. just shy of 5:10, the pentagon

says last month nato attack that killed 24 soldiers in pakistan was a misunderstanding. a pentagon spokesman says american troops thought they were under attack at the time and acted in self-defense. the pentagon says there was no intentional effort to target pakistani soldiers. >> the prosecutor has until january 16th to decide whether or not bradley manning should be tried on charges of aiding the enemy. closing arguments on the 24- year-old's article 32 hearing wrapped up thursday. he's accused of supplying secret and sensitive documents to the wikileaks web site. john edwards is seeking to delay his january 30th criminal trial on charges he illegally used campaign funds for his mistress. the former presidential candidate and senator says he has a medical condition that will make it difficult for him to attend but his illness was not publicly disclosed. edwards trial was already postponed once so he could attend his daughter's wedding. are you one of those shoppers who gets everything done way ahead of time without

jamming everything into the mall? if you ordered some christmas presents online from this one major retailer, you may be in for a big disappointment. we'll tell you which one it is at 5:39. >> if you're among the millions of americans leaving for vacation, you'll get a little break on some roads in our area. >> if you're looking for a white christmas, you'll have to get on a plane to find it because it is nowhere around here. we'll be right back.

the early risers dealt with rain. what about the people getting up, heading out the door now. >> they get the better deal. they'll get a little sunshine, dry pavement. there are some damp spots. take extra precautions. later on in the morning, you'll be just fine. you might want the sunglasses with you as well. forecast will be on the cool side. we had a treat with those 60s. they're long gone but we will continue to see dry conditions into this afternoon. as we pull out of the 40s, most of us will top out around 50, 52 for the city center. a couple of the locations are

looking at a little bit of a breeze throughout the day today. at least for the morning hours, we have a wind chill to contefned with. as we get later on into the day, we'll see partial clearing for the afternoon hours, a few passing clouds from time to time. if you have those friday night plans, definitely need to plan ahead. it is going to be a little bit chilly after sunset. here's how we're looking on satellite and radar. you can see the loop, a large swath of moisture did move through. some of the rain was steady and heavy at times. severe weather down across the southern united states. as we move on into..afternoon and evening hours. >> temperatures right now, a couple spots are warmer than others. most are in the 40s including manassas and gaithersburg. 50 for leesburg. of course, the southern location as well. we'll be dealing with a slight wind chill for most of the morning and then into the afternoon we should be quite fine once the sunshine kicks in. future track forecast models,

predictor of our next 24 to 48 hours, see all of the clearing off to our west is what's moving in as we get into midday and late afternoon. we're looking good. even into the early evening hours. overnight tonight, some of the clouds may make it into our area. we should be able to see dry conditions well into our holiday weekend. saturday looks good and sunday looks good as well for christmas. highs today should be about 52 for reagan national. make it up to about with 52 degrees out toward manassas as well. look at the moisture pulling up from the south should start to move on off to the east. the next three days, looking dry. we like that for all of the travelers on saturday for christmas eve. even christmas day looks pleasant. we'll pull in some clouds late in the day on sunday into monday. as we go into tuesday and wednesday, we're tracking some cooler temperatures. we'll hit the 40s by monday afternoon. at least our overnight temperatures within the city center will stay above freezing. monika? >> i'm glad for those last-

minute shoppers, the roads will dry out. you can travel around safely. i have a feeling this morning, some people are just going to head to work for their last- minute errands then head out for some shopping and head out for their traveling as well. here's what it looks like in the gw parkway in the beltway. no problems to report as you head in here. no problems on 66 for the roosevelt bridge. fine on the dulles toll road from leesburg. 66, as you can see, all green coming in from centreville all the way into fairfax. let's take a live look planning to head over to 66. we're doing fine all the way to the beltway and inside to the roosevelt bridge. let's take a look now at the northbound side of i-95 here in springfield looking good. no delays from the occoquan river to springfield and on to 395, we'll go live to duke street. also looking good to the 14th street bridge. no problems to report as you travel on the beltway through

alexandria and over the wilson bridge. coming up, we'll go into maryland. back to you, andrea and mike? >> thank you, monika. several area college basketball teams hit the hardwood last night. >> plus, we'll show you how the indianapolis colts may have upset the applecart in the nfl draft. stay tuned for sports. >> it is 5:18. another look at our question of the day. in a recent survey, 19% of people said this is the worst christmas gift they've ever received. socks, ornaments or a homemade sweater. >> i'll say sweater but my answer would be combat boots. it wouldn't have been so bad except i'm a girl. >> log on to the facebook.com/wusa9 fan page and leave your response. >> maybe they were designer combat boots. we'll reveal the answer during the 6:00 hour.

>> i'm olga breese in for

howard bernstein this morning. partly cloudy at reagan national. 49 degrees. our day planner will warm up nicely as we get in toward the 9:00 hour. most of us are peeking into the upper 40s to near 50 degrees. we won't go too far today. by early afternoon, most of us around 50 degrees. some of the mid-50s further down to the south. for the most part, we'll get a lot of sunshine and keep our dry conditions. the nationals surprised insiders with a late night trade. >> they acquired gonzalez with a deal with the oakland athletics. gonzalez made his first all- star team last season strike out 197 batters. nats traded away four prospects including pitchers brad peacock and tom malone. now, here's dave owns with the rest of your morning sports. >> good morning, everybody. when georgetown and memphis met in maui in november, it was fast-paced, end to end overtime drama.

hoyas squeaked by. how about a mainland rematch last night at verizon center. hoyas did the running last night. henry sims popping in his air force ones. thompson with the flying whirling dushish. georgetown never trailed. they route memphis 70-59. a little president's battle across the way. george washington, james madison. taylor popping it. a.j. davis, president on president crime. dukes win going away 62-57. that will do it for your morning sports. have a great friday, everybody. >> the ind an a -- the indianapolis colts are on a winning streak. they beat the texans on thursday night football.

uconn grad made the winning touchdown pass. colts win 19-16. >> he was considered at one time one of the top quarterback bees in the upcoming nfl draft however, usc quarterback matt barclay will not be available for the redskins or any other teams in search of a quarterback. barclay announced last night he's going to return to college for his senior season. the trojans will be bowl eligible next year after being banned the last two seasons. he wants to be in a bowl game. >> he does. >> we'll check in on the last- minute shoppers taking advantage of much longer store hours coming up. >> plus, barring another last minute -- today, the pay cut extension bill will pass. monika, ove to you. >> live look at the beltway at river road in bethesda. there are no problems between the american legion bridge, 270, silver spring and college park. you're good to go in all of those areas. coming up in my next report, another look at maryland roadways. you're watching 9news now. stay with us.

welcome back to 9news now on this friday morning. i'm andrea roane. >> i'm mike hydeck. do you have food in your office? because we do. >> no water. >> i know. that wasn't very good. hi, monika. howard is off today. >> pumpkin cheesecake. >> you do? >> i love it. >> i'm dreaming of pumpkin cheesecake as we speak. enjoying a sugar high this morning. our forecast today, not going to feature too warm of a temperature for today but it still will be pleasant by december standards. we're looking at mainly cloudy skies this morning. all of that is starting to clear. with some good sunshine in here, the afternoon is going to shape up to be pretty nice. half day tomorrow or maybe you're doing some shopping or have the full day off, take the

sunglasses with you. reagan national is sitting at about 50 degrees. we should make it to the lower and mid-50s. in the afternoon, the temperatures will drop off significantly after sunset. we'll definitely see the cooldown right about 4:00 p.m. as temperatures go back down into the 40s. heading out on the town, we'll keep things dry. although temperatures will be dropping down. highs should be quite nice again, 52 for reagan national and about the upper 40s off to the north and toward our east. we're looking at a dry forecast for saturday, sunday and into monday. monika? >> well, overall, we're looking very good outside. if you're planning to head into work early and then head out of town, i think right now, you should be good to go. beltway, no big deals around town. we'll zoom into frederick where it looks good on i-70, no problems to 270 all the way down to the point where the lanes divide, everything is doing well. college park, no problems to report on 95 in from baltimore.

the bw parkway to the bwi airport is fine as well. we're looking good on the bw parkway through cheverly. we'll go a little further south if you're planning to head over here on pennsylvania avenue. this is what it looks like in the southeast corridor across the sousa bridge, all of the potomac and anacostia crossings are doing fine as well. coming up, we'll take another look around the area. back to you, andrea and mike. >> thank you, monika. >> this morning, many families that haven't left already are packing up for their christmas trip. >> there is good news for drivers leaving later today. virginia's department of transportation is pulling up the cones and big orange barrels. starting at noon. they'll suspend construction until noon on tuesday. same schedule will be used next weekend for the new year's holiday. >> virginia state police have a message for drivers. please give them some room and move over if you see emergency vehicles on the shoulder. a trooper narrowly avoided being seriously injured earlier this year when a car slammed into his stopped patrol car. some other troopers haven't

been as lucky. millions of americans will not have to start the new year with a cut this their paychecks. house republicans have decided to go along with a senate bill to extend the payroll tax cuts at least for two more months. surae dhin is live in the newsroom with more on this story. what a battle this was, surae. >> just in time before christmas. president obama commended the compromise. in a statement, he urges congress upon their return next month to keep working to reach an agreement that will extend the tax cut and unemployment benefits for all of 2012 without drama or delay. there has been plenty of drama though in the days leading up to the agreement but in the end, the g.o.p. caved under enormous pressure, saving face only by insisting on some tweaks to the bill protecting small businesses. the measure which is expected to pass today, extends the tax breaks and long-term unemployment benefits through

february 29th. i don't think it is any time for celebration. our economy is struggling. we've got a lot of work ahead of us in the coming year. we were here fighting for the right things. may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world but i'm going to tell you what. i think our members waged a good fight. >> this has been a year of divided and rankerrous government. we finally got some good news. the middle class tax cut has been saved and will continue on into january. >> democrats and president obama have pointed out that it is very small. very small faction of house republicans who have stalled progress. senator schumer going as far as saying a small extreme group had paralyzed congress. he hopes it does not continue into next year. back to you, mike, andrea. >> thank you, surae chinn live in our newsroom this morning. >> d.c. police are investigating a shooting in southeast that left a victim in critical condition. the wounded man went to a shell gas station for help at the corner of pennsylvania and

minnesota avenues and police believe the shooting happened nearby because the man lost consciousness when police arrived just a few minutes later. no word yet on any suspects or possible motive in the case. tonight, the national cathedral will kick off a weekend full of christmas events with carols by candlelight. it starts at 6:00 and everyone is welcome. yesterday in our 6:00 a.m. hour, we update you on the progress of the repairs. it is believed some repairs will take upwarsd of a decade. you, our generous viewers made generous gifts online including one donation of $1,000. thank you! >> nice to hear. renovations to a d.c. public school damaged by fire are finished and the students will get to go back to takoma education campus when classes start on january 3rd. it was heavily damaged one year ago forcing the students to move to meyer elementary school which had been closed in 2008

for low enrollment there. crews performed $26.5 million in renovations to the tacoma campus and again, they're done now. time for another "your money" report. >> let's go live to jessica doyle out with the late season shoppers. she's live at tysons. good morning. >> good morning, guys. 50% off coats. just some of the deals you'll find here at the macy's that is open 24 hours until 6:00 p.m. on christmas eve. we're finding you deals this morning for procrastinators. we have the extra shopping day on saturday. it is like a gift for us procrastinators out there. "consumer reports" was estimating as of sunday, 25% of us hadn't even started shopping yet. we're getting you some options and deeply discounted options here at this macy's in tysons corner. we'll start with some of the most deeply discounted items, cashmere. here is an idea for the gentleman in your life. very classic cashmere scarf,

camel color. this scarf is currently going for about $50. it was originally $100. you're getting 50% off. on some items right now, you can also use a bonus coupon that will get you 15% off or you can use your macy's card. i kind of like this one a lot. ladies, if you get him a suitcase, he might take you on a romantic trip. this is a little tote you can carry on the other hand. this is normally $200 currently going for $100. for the well-dressed gentleman in your life, maybe he's a polo ralph lauren guy. this is a lovely coat here. another deeply discounted item. this was originally about $500. it is currently 30% off going for $346. these are just some of the options that you can find here at macy's. and you can expect these types of discounts at all of the major chain stores right now. now, coming up in the next half hour, we're not forgetting about the ladies. gentlemen, we know it is tough

to shop for the ladies in your life. we'll come up with some spectacular last-minute ideas for you that are also deeply discounted. i'm going to send it back to you guys in the studio. >> jess, are there people shopping this time of the morning who have been there since 2:00 a.m.? >> the sales associates are definitely outnumbering the customers here but we're starting to see some people come in and since we've got saturday this year to shop opposed to last year, we saw big stream in on friday last year. we're fully expecting a lot of folks to come in tomorrow to do that last-minute shopping. get it done just under the wire. >> that will be a crazy day tomorrow. i bet. jess, we'll see you a little later. >> the malls aren't the only places echoing promising news about the economy. there are some others. we'll tell you about that coming up. >> one large retailer suddenly turns on its customers. we'll tell you what's happening at best buy.

>> clouds are clearing. we'll see sunshine later on this afternoon. your day planner is looking great. we'll stay in the 40s and 50s. midday and late day with all of the sunshine peeking on through, most of us top out in the low to mid-50s. a pretty nice evening as well with winds out of the northwest and temperatures tonight only into the 40s. monika? >> we'll take a live look downtown on pennsylvania avenue. right in front of the willard hotel. everything is doing fine downtown. in all of your corridors including right here, pennsylvania avenue, constitution avenue. and everything around the ellipse. coming up in my next report, we'll take another look into downtown. back to you. andrea? >> monika, thank you. let's take a quick look at a few more your money stories this morning. u.s. investors hope to continue thursday's gains today. the dow jumped 62 points

closing at 12,169. nasdaq climbed 21 points and the s&p 500 was up 10. some good economic news has the markets more optimistic. the labor department reports the number of americans filing first time unemployment benefits dropped to its lowest level since april 2008. economists were expecting an increase. while millions of americans are still looking for work, the good news is the payroll tax deal lessens the danger they'll lose their federal unemployment benefits. well, if you ordered some of your gifts from best buy.com, you might need a back- up plan and put it into action soon. the electronics retailer announced yesterday it won't be able to fill some of the its customer's orders, especially the ones that were online. the company says overwhelming demand for some of the products has led to a problem redeeming the online orders made in november and dice -- and december. it won't say which products are out of stock but the shortages are a black eye for best buy which had beefed up online offering as a way to offset

tough competition from online retailers and discount stores. we want to take another look at our question of the day. in a recent survey, 19% of people said this is the worst christmas gift they've ever received is it a, socks? b, ornaments. i like ornaments. c, a homemade sweater. >> er log on to facebook.com/wusa9 and this is one of the people who gave us their opinion. susan adams wrote colored electrical tape. >> that wasn't on the list. >> when i was a teenager. that's funny. >> logs on to the facebook.com/wusa9 and leave your response. we'll reveal the answer in about an hour. a nobel prize winner is re- entering the political arena. that story is coming up. >> and there is a need to clean up before christmas. after some severe weather sweeps through the south. >> 5:41. let's see who's celebrating a birthday today. japanese emperor is 78. you'll hear his voice on the

simpsons. actor harry shearer is 68. >> back to susan lucci turns 65 today although she looks 35. eddie vedder is 47. and she just had a baby. france's first lady turns 44 today. if it is your birthday, happy birthday. we'll be right back.

good morning and welcome back to 9news now. it is 5:45. it is friday, all of those good things. and we're drying out. here is olga breese in for howard. >> little bit of humidity still out there. i'm noticing it because my hair is reacting at the moment. but afternoon, evening hours, it will be fantastic, wrapping up the week. especially for those who will kick off the holiday weekend right around sunset. forecast for today, looks pretty good. we're starting out with a mix of clouds and a little bit of

clearing skies starting to move on through. all of the early moisture is now moving off toward our east. that will give us plenty of sunshine through midmorning and late morning. right now, reagan national is about at 50 degrees, 49 degrees inside the beltway and just outside the beltway but we will continue to move on up. middle range 50s not out of the question. most areas should top out around 52, 53 degrees. we could see 55 further down. winds have been out of the north and northwest this morning. that's going to continue. a little bit breezy at times. keep in mind if you're stepping out early to have a little bit of wind chill we're contending with. by late afternoon, 52 degrees. temperatures into the 40s overnight tonight. the forecast for today, not too bad. pavement should be drying out for those of you who are about to get out and head on into the commute. we'll see some cooler temperatures as we head in toward the afternoon. the 60s, we saw earlier this week are long gone. we'll cool it down more as we

head into saturday. so, if you are headed out to the redskins game tomorrow, it is definitely going to be a chilly one with highs in the 40s then christmas day looks dry. at least we'll keep our temperatures fairly mild back into the 50s with plenty of sunshine to go around. here is our look at our satellite and radar scan. i'll put this in motion. that's all of the rain that's moved out of here. cloud cover early morning. for most of of us in the afternoon, it will be quite nice. it does feel cooler. you can drop the temperatures, thermometer temperature down a couple of degrees because of the northwest winds. future cast does feature a break in the cloud cover. sunshine from midday and late afternoon, in fact, we're looking pretty good as we head into saturday. little bit more cloud cover by sunday afternoon. but notice things do stay dry well into sunday morning. so, here's how we're looking for the forecast for today. high of 52 for reagan national. only about 48 for frederick. about 52 down toward manassas. again, the overnight temperatures tonight on the chilly side. inside the beltway, we'll stick

to above freezing but as soon as you get out toward gaithersburg, frederick, out toward leesburg, even manassas, expect the temperatures to drop down at or below freezing. next three days, very pleasant for today. little bit chilly tomorrow. we'll knock it down a couple of degrees. more sunshine on saturday. by sunday, for christmas day, get out and enjoy it because temperatures will be quite nice and we're definitely going to keep things dry. the overnight lows in town are staying above freezing for the short term but tracking a potential for a storm to move in between sunday night and monday. right now, it is questionable so we've kept the forecast dry for now. monika? >> thank you so much, olga. traveling around town if you need to get to work early and head out of town, right now, you should be ok. the beltway is looking great all around. here's what it looks like on the gw parkway inside the beltway, all green for you. if you're heading to national airport, you'll be ok. if you're planning to head on to the roosevelt bridge, let's take a look live.

66 is not encountering any delays from manassas to the beltway. into downtown ruing the bridge span here. we'll go a little further to the east and look at the 14th street bridge on the northbound side of 395 also looking very good between the beltway and this point into the downtown area. let's take a look at your trains. if you're planning to use metro or vre, everything is running on time. metro will run extra trains this afternoon. it is on a regular weekend schedule this weekend and opens until 3:00 a.m. on christmas eve. by the way, if you're planning to use marc brunswick line 876, it is canceled today. they'll honor your metro tickets. another look around the area at 6:00. back to you, mike. >> thank you, monika. making news now at 5:49, a line of storms which brought rain to the south was more powerful than first thought, at least two people were injured in rome, georgia, when the strong winds sent debris flying through the air. this morning, a series of

strong earthquakes has shaken christchurch, new zealand. one tremor had a magnitude of 5.8. panicked christmas shoppers fled outside. one shopper was taken to a hospital. >> er she has formally registered her party. the nobel peace prize winner decided to rejoin politics with her national league for democracy party. with christmas on sunday, the redskins are playing their last home game tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. >> it is against a team that's only won two games. the minnesota vikings. but kristin berset reports redskins could fall into a trap if they're not careful. >> the redskins said they want to go out with a bang this season. after rolling over the giants, they have a good chance to make it two in a row in their home finale against the 2-10 vikings. >> morale is definitely up. spirits are up. >> we're excited to be out there to play together. and make plays. >> go out there as a

professional, prepared with the playoff on the line. like the game means something. >> after another failed donovan mcnabb experiment, minnesota now relies on rookie quarterback christian ponder but that's been an achilles' heel for the redskins. they're 0-7 when going up against a newby. >> he throws great on the run. you really have to be focused. >> aside from ponder, the redskins d have their hands full with adrian peterson. in his first game back since suffer an ankle sprain, he was limited to ten carries against new orleans. the redskins know he's chomping at the bit for a big game. >> just watching him even with the hurt ankle, he's still able to do things that you don't see too often. so, we're definitely going to be geared up to stop the run. get up to defend their offense. >> that team goes with him. put the game in his hands. you have a high chance of winning the game. >> the redskins are assured one thing. they have some serious talent on this team.

providing a glimmer of hope for next year. >> error the season didn't go the way we thought it would. we have to try to build for the future. >> kristin berset, 9news sports now. >> a local minister honors his wife's memory by continuing their work with teenagers in need of a good home. that story is coming up. >> plus, a couple more new movies vying for the audiences this weekend. we'll have a sneak peek.

the relationship between a police officer and his muslim artist girlfriend is

irrevocably changed showing the emotional, moral and physical toll of war. when you hear about a child being adopted, you usually think of a baby or a toddler but in fredericksburg, a 17- year-old boy has a new family this holiday season. as peggy fox reports, it is a family that enjoys adopting teenagers. >> tyler freeman is a typical teenager except for the fact that he's just been adopted. >> i hope i'm doing the right thing. >> a fredericksburg minister is his new dad. >> he wanted a mother. and my wife was that perfect person. >> then in january, she died suddenly. eventually, artie worked through his own grief and depression and decided what he must do. >> my wife left a legacy behind. the legacy she left behind was i want him to be my son and we will adopt him. >> reporter: last month, tyler freeman at 17, officially became artie's son.

>> it is joyful to have a dad like him. who will do anything for a child like me. even despite the bad things i've done. he's still there. it is touching. >> three years ago, tyler was in a group home when he was ready to move to a foster home, they gave him a choice of seven different families. instead of reading through them to find out about them, he just picked one at random. but he struck gold with the bethillas. >> i wanted him to feel he belonged to somebody and somebody belonged to him. and whether he is 17 or 27, everybody needs somebody to love and you know, that's my dad. that's my family. >> minister bethea doesn't just change lives from the pulpit but one by one, day by day at his own kitchen table. in fredericksburg, peggy fox.

>> they had five of their own children. 30 foster kids and now have adopted two children there. all matched by nonprofit programs. mr. bethea said he's driven to help as many teenagers as he can because he just hates to seeel 18-year-olds walk away from foster care with no family. >> what a great story. merry christmas to them. thank you for watching 9news now at 6:00 a.m. i'm andrea roane. >> i'm mike hydeck. happy friday. almost there for christmas. good morning, smo. >> good morning, mike hydeck. >> olga breese is in for howard. >> he's got good travel conditions. so do folks heading out today. a lot of people will want to get on the road and get going this afternoon. we're going to keep it dry. overnight moisture has moved on east. clouds are starting to clear. that means sunshine will pull on through. midday and late day, most of us will sit in the lower to mid- 50s for most of the afternoon. not a lot of fluctuation or daytime heating this time of the year because of our very, very